William Borden Residence, Chicago, Illinois, Dormer Details 1885 - 1886

Editor: This is a drawing of the William Borden Residence in Chicago, dating back to 1885-1886, created by Richard Morris Hunt. It details the dormers, and what strikes me most are the various building materials sketched here with pencil and watercolor. What is your perspective on this piece? Curator: This drawing exemplifies a fascinating tension. It presents itself as high art – architectural design rendered with traditional media – but its true value lies in the process of material selection and labor it represents. It's a blueprint, a set of instructions governing the manipulation of materials and the application of craft. Editor: So you see the artistic merit in its function, in how it bridges the gap between concept and tangible reality? Curator: Precisely! Think about the social context: this residence reflects the burgeoning wealth of Chicago and the rising demand for skilled labor in construction. This drawing, with its precise details, is directing that labor. The materiality here isn’t just about the aesthetic appeal of stone and wood; it speaks to the economic forces at play. The availability and cost of specific materials in that historical moment would have directly shaped the final building. Editor: That makes me look at it differently. The choices represented aren’t just aesthetic but deeply tied to industrial networks and the socio-economic realities of the time. I hadn't considered the implications of the medium representing a complex labor process. Curator: Exactly. It reminds us to question traditional hierarchies. Is this "just" a drawing, or a document that unlocks crucial insights into material culture and the built environment, and their profound social and economic consequences? Editor: It's both! Thanks, I've definitely learned a new way to look at architectural drawings. Curator: And I am reminded that even seemingly technical drawings hold a wealth of untapped narratives about the world they helped create.